On the Today Show this morning (THURS) Treasurer Joe Hockey followed the party line. “I don’t know what happened. I don’t know the circumstances. I will leave it to those people but it doesn’t surprise me in Canberra you bump into each other at restaurants. There is only a few restaurants in Canberra,” he said.

“Obviously Clive might have more than one meal a night so it is quite possible you will bump into him at a restaurant. I think it is probably just coincidence, nothing more.”

But then Clive blew them all out of the water as he was quizzed about the appropriateness of a civil servant of Mr Parkinson’s stature attending such a dinner.

“I didn’t invite Martin I was invited by Malcolm. Malcolm sent me a text and suggested I should call in and have a bite to eat with him after the Mineral Council,” he said. They were, after all, old friends, he said.

So it was not a chance encounter and Mr Parkinson was worried enough to elect to leave the Wild Duck via the back door while the two politicians and two other mystery male companions braved the flashbulbs at the front.

Clearly Mr Palmer’s vote is important as the government battles to get support for an unpopular budget. But Mr Palmer said: “It was really just a personal meeting among friends and the only discussion that I can recall about the budget was the fact that my budget reply speech on Youtube has had 40,000 over hits.”

For him it was all about the banana split. “I would recommend it to all of you. Caramelised banana with a coconut ice-cream. That was the highlight of the evening for me,” he said.

Last night, as he left Wild Duck at 10.30pm,, Mr Turnbull confirmed to The Daily Telegraph that the Budget had been on the agenda.

“The Budget is a topic of conversation everywhere,” he said. “There really is not much to say, we have had a pleasant dinner and a good chat.”

He refused to divulge further details of the meeting.

The timing of the dinner for five was perfect — the nation’s eyes were on the State of Origin and in Parliament House Prime Minister Tony Abbott and most of his ministers were at the Annual Minerals Industry dinner. The restaurant owner said some of the guests were regular diners and had enjoyed a range of entrees and mains before one of the two mystery diners had picked up the bill.

Mr Palmer had earlier been at the minerals dinner but walked out after the entree and before the Prime Minister spoke.

Clive Palmer had a secret dinner with Malcolm Turnbull and the head of Treasury Martin PaSource:News Corp Australia

He left behind a power-packed hall of mining bosses and politicians, including Speaker Bronwyn Bishop, MP Phillip Ruddock, Liberal Party boss Brian Loughnane and Martin Ferguson.

Mr Palmer did not let on that he was heading to the real power dinner of the night. “This is the life of a politician, I have to go and give a speech to the party faithful,” he said as he walked out. “We have thousands of members all over the country.”

Certainly the power that Mr Palmer holds through his independent seat is of great interest to the Abbott government right now as it battles to push through a controversial Budget.

The Queensland billionaire left his dining companions waiting at the Asian restaurant on the newly developed Kingston foreshore, close to Mr Turnbull’s Canberra penthouse.

Mr Palmer anxiously paced around the front of Parliament House as his driver raced to get his silver Bentley from the carpark to pick him up.

“I have six minutes to get there,” he said, at least 10 minutes before he left.

Earlier in the day he had asked for the government to provide him with the same number of staffers as The Greens. It might have been the bargaining chip the government was waiting for.

Or it could just have been a nice dinner of “fine Asian cuisine” among very rich friends.

Senior ministers last night were surprised to hear of the meeting and even more curious about the presence of Dr Parkinson.

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